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Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences
The Foraging Ecology Of The Juvenile Gopher Tortoise, Gopheruspol Yphemus, Terri Anne Stilson
The Foraging Ecology Of The Juvenile Gopher Tortoise, Gopheruspol Yphemus, Terri Anne Stilson
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Food plant preferences of juvenile gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus, were investigated in a west central Florida population. The juvenile gopher tortoises were free-ranging and were located in a sandhill habitat subject to yearly prescribed burns. Diet was determined by foraging observations, in which the number of bites taken per taxon, the number of plants sampled per taxon, and the amount of each taxon available along the foraging path were recorded. Preference was determined with Manly's alpha index of preference and Jacob's D electivity index. Selected plants in the habitat were analyzed for relative nitrogen content to investigate whether preferred …
Response Of The Threatened Sand Skink (Neoseps Reynolds!) And Other Herpetofaunal Species To Burning And Clearcutting In The Florida Sand Pine Scrub Habitat, Kristie D. Gianopulos
Response Of The Threatened Sand Skink (Neoseps Reynolds!) And Other Herpetofaunal Species To Burning And Clearcutting In The Florida Sand Pine Scrub Habitat, Kristie D. Gianopulos
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Florida scrub habitat is a naturally fire maintained habitat that is highly endangered because of great demand for land for agriculture and real estate. Maintenance of remaining patches ofFlorida scrub habitat requires active management. We experimentally investigated the effects of clearcutting and burning on sand skink populations in three patches of sand pine scrub. Each patch included a clearcut plot, a burned plot, and an undisturbed plot. Treatment plot boundaries were drawn in 1995 such that each plot was no different from any other plot in sand skink densities. The responses of sand skink and other herpetofauna populations were monitored …
The Effects Of Silviculture And Prescribed Burning On Herpetofauna In Florida Sand-Pine Scrub, Stig Ravdal
The Effects Of Silviculture And Prescribed Burning On Herpetofauna In Florida Sand-Pine Scrub, Stig Ravdal
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Florida sand pine scrub is among the most endangered habitats in the United States and much of the remaining scrub is heavily influenced by management for timber production. In this study the effects of timber management practices on herpetofaunal community diversity and composition were investigated on experimentally manipulated plots near Orlando, Florida. Plots at three sites were either harvested, burned, or treated as a control (unmanipulated). Herpetofauna were trapped using pit-fall drift-fence trapping arrays. Animals were counted, measured, marked and released from March 1996 to June 1998. During this time period 1489 reptiles and amphibians were caught from 31 different …
Homing Behavior And Orientation In The Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus Polyphemus, Kevin Michael Connor
Homing Behavior And Orientation In The Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus Polyphemus, Kevin Michael Connor
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Gopher tortoises are found in xeric habitats in the southeastern United States. In these xeric habitats, gopher tortoises excavate and reside in burrows which provide shelter and protection. Gopher tortoises are active throughout the year, often making several journeys a day away from their burrows. Although they may move substantial distances, they return to their burrows, suggesting that they posses a well-developed orientation and homing ability. This study investigated the ability of gopher tortoises to home from short distance (40 meters, just outside of or on the perimeter of their home ranges) and intermediate distances (200 meters, approximately 2 home …
The Diet Of The Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus Polyphemus, In A Sandhill Habitat In Central Florida, Laurie Ann Macdonald
The Diet Of The Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus Polyphemus, In A Sandhill Habitat In Central Florida, Laurie Ann Macdonald
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Scat analysis and foraging observations were used to determine the diet of a gopher tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, population in a sandhill community in west central Florida. Live vegetation was assessed to determine plant availability. The bulk of the gopher tortoise diet was composed of the dominant plant species in the habitat while the tortoises were selective with respect to most plant genera. Tortoises ingested many plant taxa with Poaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Pinaceae and Fagaceae being the most frequent components of the diet. Sixty-eight genera from 26 families were identified in the tortoise diet. In the scat the most common …
Demography, Movements, Activity, Habitat Utilization And Marking Behavior Of A Bobcat (Lynx Rufus) Population In South-Central Florida, Douglas A. Wassmer
Demography, Movements, Activity, Habitat Utilization And Marking Behavior Of A Bobcat (Lynx Rufus) Population In South-Central Florida, Douglas A. Wassmer
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Eighteen (6 male and 7 female adults, 5 juveniles) radio-collared bobcats (Lynx rufus) were monitored on the Archbold Biofogical Station and vicinity during 1979-1982. Mean density was 0.06 males, 0.11 females, and 0.19 juveniles per 100 ha. Mean sex and age ratios were 0.6 adult males per adult female and 1.22 juveniles per adult. Breeding occurred from September to March. Mean size of 13 mobile litters was 2.5 (range 1-4). Nine (50%) of 18 collared cats died. Nine additional individuals were found dead or reported killed. Known causes of 16 deaths were: road-killed 8, feline panleukopenia or notoedric …